Senator Shin etal:
Condemnation because of blight becomes a real "hot button" issue. Many other state legislatures are dealing with the same problem. I notice in your bill, that little is said about "compensation" other than the owner of a blighted property does not get an increased compensation price if they improve the property and it is taken by condemnation. However, no where does this bill even mention a property owner being offered a "fair market value" for their property. Just as with eminent domain, the bill should also protect a property owners rights of reasonable re-imbursement, even for "blighted" property. Also, the timeline for condemnation is not clearly stated. The State of Texas also included a provision that if a property was not used for a public service after 10 years that it reverted back to it's previous owner. This might have helped property owners along the defunct monorail project and also the Bremerton Project of a few years ago. In the Bremerton Project, a widow was a hold-out and her property finally condemned. The property was taken over by an auto dealership which closed it's doors a few years later. Despite a properties blightedness, for whatever reason the property owners deserve as much protection, under the law, as a valuable taking.